GIVING BACK

I’m very aware that I am a very fortunate girl and I’m beyond thankful for the life I’ve been given. I believe that it is my duty (and the responsibility of those fortunate like myself) to give back to those in need. I don’t have big bucks to donate, but I do have my time, my passion and my heart to share.

This year, I made a commitment to volunteer when I can. I’ve found some wonderful opportunities that have brought me such joy and happiness. I’ve wielded a hammer and power drill to help build a home for Habitat For Humanity, read with first graders in an under-resourced elementary school in Los Angeles and written moving and heartbreaking letters to the President with homeless youth in New York and LA.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY –

My friend Jill and I volunteered to help build in Lynwood, California at the site of 10 future homes for deserving hardworking, low-income families. These homes will be the first LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) housing development in Lynwood.

With the help of our team leader Bill, Jill and I put ceilings on closets in the units. Guess what? I’m a pro with a hammer and power drill and Jill’s a pro with a power saw. Our team cruised through 4 closets and also built a plant box in record time! The other team doing the same job finished only 2 closets :) Boy, are we good!

Building is HARD work! I was exhausted after and could barely walk or lift my arms the next day, but it was all worth it to be a part of such an amazing project!

READY TO LEARN –

Once a month, I’ve been volunteering with LAJCC’s program Ready To Learn. Each Saturday, we meet in the auditorium of 49^th Street School in downtown LA to read with first graders who struggle with reading. The hope is to make reading fun for these kid’s and help them do better in school and have a better future.

The first Saturday, I read with Vivian an adorable 6-year old in a gold sparkly Hannah Montana dress. Even though it was freezing in the auditorium, she refused to put on her sweater (sometimes you have to suffer for fashion. I like your style, Viv!) Even though she couldn’t read the simplest site words (She speaks mostly Spanish at home), she listened intently as I read, described the pictures and counted the pages. We read 3 books in all and by the end she was pointing to site words (recognition is key), following along with her finger and retelling what I read (in comprehension she gets an A+). Next, we decorated heart napkin holders and ate pizza together. We definitely had a fun morning and achieved our goal of making reading enjoyable.

Since then, I have returned each month to read with another first grader eager to enjoy reading. The relationships I have built with the kids and the hugs I receive every time make dragging myself out of bed on a Saturday morning so worthwhile.

CHILDREN MENDING HEARTS –

Children Mending Hearts is a global arts exchange between at-risk children in America and children living in African conflict zones. The aim is to educate, empower and encourage children to have a voice.

So far, we have held two "PLEASE MR. PRESIDENT” workshops, one in LA and one in NYC. The workshops are amazingly moving days where we work with at-risk children writing letters and drawing pictures to be included in a book in the future. There is also a jewelry making workshop and table for painting T-shirts to be brought to kids in the Congo later this year.

I run the letter-writing workshops. I created a simple and fun lesson plan to guide the children in sharing their stories, their lives and their hopes and dreams for the future.

The workshop in Los Angeles was held in a large gym at the Union Rescue Mission downtown. We didn’t know exactly what to expect (how many kids, age range, reading and writing levels), but we were prepared and excited.

As the families started to fill the gym, an 8 year-old African American girl approached my table. She openly talked to me about how she lived in the Mission because, “her dad hated her mom and left them with nothing.” She told me and wrote in her letter about how he would hit her and that she knows the world would be better if there was no violence and no guns like the one that shot her brother. I was beyond touched by her honesty and her sweet nature.

I wrote letters with many kids (little ones to teens) and adults throughout the day. Some wrote touching, deep letters about their lives that brought tears to my eyes, while others stayed light. One sweet Mexican American 6 year-old girl wrote that she thinks the president should give toys to all the poor people because then everyone would be happy.

As the day progressed, we danced, made jewelry and painted t-shirts to be brought to the kids in the Congo.

The next workshop was held in New York City and was way bigger than the first. We met in a beautiful ballroom, which quickly filled to the brim with kids and families. We wrote letters with amazingly open kids about their experiences and how they think their world could be better. I was so moved by how honest and open the kids where. I think it must make the kid’s feel better to have a venue to share their stories and have someone to listen and not judge.

I worked with one amazing teenage girl named Crystal. She wore a baseball hat low over her face and when she spoke it was barely audible, but when she wrote the words came flowing out. She wrote 2 pages where she talked about being shy and having trouble communicating with people. She wrote about living in a shelter and reading to escape her world. I worked another girl named Sydney who described being stereotyped and judged for being Dominican. She wanted to ask the President to come visit her in Washington Heights and “smack some sense into the youth of America because they are the future.” She also wanted to ask the President to find a way for everyone to have the opportunity to go to college. She dreams of being in the medical field.

As I worked with the kids writing letter, the music blasted, we danced, celebrities mingled with the families, we ate pizza. Everyone was having a great time you could tell by the energy in the room, the smiles and the hugs. What an amazing day!

Next, the program will move to Las Vegas, Chicago, New Orleans, Washington, DC and finally to the Congo. I’m not sure if I will make it to each of the stops, but I am so very glad I was able to be a part of these two events.

Working with organizations such as these reminds me how fortunate I am and how extremely important it is to give back. You can’t beat the feeling you get volunteering your time. The smiles on the kids faces as they sounded out new words in a book they’d never been able to read before or the fact that some needy and well deserving family will be able to hang their coats in the closet that I helped build or the moving stories that are shared and the hugs received from at-risk kids make donating a day of your time SOOOOO worth while.

I urge you to give back as well. Volunteering is FABULOUS!